Mail covering and mailing record strip



A. W. MaCKlNNON Filed Aug. 4, 1954 -MAL COVERIN-G AND MAILING RECORD STRIP Jan. 22, 1935.

o l n Patented Jan. 22, 1935 UNITED sTA'IEsg MAILy covERING SAND MAILING RECORD.,

y TRIP Arthur W. MacKinnon, Shreveport, La. Application August 4, 1934, serial No. '138,522

18 caims. 01. 229-79)` This invention .relates to a device or devices for obtaining a mailing record upon an enclosure or letter carried Within a mail Wrapper or covering, and more particularly to a modiiied form of envelope or mail covering and mailing record strips for use with modified envelopes ro-r mail coverings, by means of which a mailing record may be durably and preferably permanently affixed to the mailed matter or enclosure therein contained. i

The general purpose of the invention is to provide for positive and permanent evidence of mail-l ing upon mailed matter, and also to provide an improved mail covering, envelope, or Wrapper, and a mailing record strip whereby a mailing identicationmay be obtained upon the mailed enclosure.

The invention therefore relates to mailing record strips and mail covering constructions which are so devised and formed that the enclosed Inailing matter will carry the mailing record, placed upon the message or package duringits transmittal, When the enclosure is withdrawn from Vits envelope or other form of covering.

the mailing record placed by the post office upon the message or package during its transmittal.

It is a further object of myinvention kto provide an envelope construction, which will insure and permit the permanent aixing of `the mailing record, placed upon the envelope during its transmittal, to the enclosure yor letter.

A further object of my invention is the provision of an altered section in the mailing record area of an envelope or mail covering which is adapted to temporarily secure the envelope to its enclosure during transmittal through the mail, and to insure permanent aflixing of the mailing record to the enclosure before removal of the enclosure from the envelope.

Another object of my invention'is to provide a strip for carrying the mailing record and which is to be used With a mailcovering having a cutout portion in the mailing record area of its mailing face.

A still further object of` this invention is to provide a means for determining that the mailing record carried by an enclosure or letter is authentic and was received during the course of its transmittal through the mail. y

According to the prior mailing practice Where letters, packages and the like aresent through It is an object of my invention to provide an' authentic identification" upon mailing matter' which passes through the mail in an outer coverving or envelope, the identification consisting of.

the mail enclosed in a separate envelope or covering, the postage is aliixed to and becomes a permanent part of such covering.A The postage is usually placed at the' upperright-hand corner of the mailing face carrying thefaddress?, in accordance with custom and postal regulations. This postage and the adjacent surface of the mailing face of the covering, which'together'broadly vterm themailing recordarea,'receive the imprint of the post office cancellation, postmark and the like. After such covering has been freed 'from its contents there is no positive means o'f identifyingsuch contentsv with such mailing recordgnor is there any other positive evidence that such contents have been mailed. At considerable "expense, 'governmentsicontinue "to l'cause cancellation and postmarking in a manner'which'serves to ,deface 'such postage :and `record information -Which has to do with the .manner of dispatching,

timezofday, date,l epoch, or place andthelike of mailing or receivingofsuch mailed matten'.

Primarily such recorded' information isrintended for governmentalpos'tal purposesas evidence ofservice, but it is oftenof :value tolthe addressee orzrecipient of the. mailed.zamatt'erf` as evidenced by the preservingv of envelopes andT the like-'for the postal mailing recordthereonI-Fr'Suchservice orrecord if made' positivelyridentiable with the enclosed mailed subject. matter :would bemost valuable'to the public and governmentalvagencies. Y w

By the means employed comprising my invention I` am enabled to'produce positive and iper"- manent authoritative identicationffof matter mailed in coverings not integral'with such covering. Such means entailsV no extra governmental expense or inconvenience. While my invention is sutablefor use in nection with the mailing or its equivalent of all manner of 'articles' enclosed in 'coverings of paper .or the like, I will describe it as applied to the mailing of letters,Y as the mailed matter, in envelopes as'the covering. The'invention is herein illustrated' a's embodied in that form...`

The essential characteristic of an envelope constructed according to my invention resides in an altered "Section in the .Wall of the envelope positioned to correspond'with 'and of a size and form determined by the mailing record area thereof; The altered section comprises the Aareas customarily `covered by the postage, cancellation, and for the postmark, and is `designed so that upon the positioning and amxing of the mailing record uponv the message during its transmittal, the

mailing record will -be permanently ffixed to: the r contents of the envelope and remain in situ on the contents upon' the withdrawal of the latterA from the envelope.

This invention also provides a strip for carrying the mailing record and which may receive the latter in whole or in part before or after it is aflixed to an envelope having a cutout portion in the mailing record area of its mailing face.

Other detailed objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing, preferred emf bodiments of my invention are illustrated.

Figure 1 is a front elevational View ofone form of my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional' Vwon an enlarged scale taken on line II-II of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevational view, of an opened envelope of the type shown in Figure 1, with the letter or enclosure freed from the envelope vand. retaining'the mailing record as a part thereof; s

Figure 41s. an enlargedplan Aview ofthe reverse vside ofthe mailing recordstripshown in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a'vertical sectional Vview taken on line V..-..V of Figure. 4;

f vf i Figure :6 isa plan View of; a .modification of the. strip" carrying themailing record;

Figure A'l f is a fragmentary plan view of an en velope embodying another modification ofthis invention; w I f e Figure 8 isaplan View ofV aV mailing record. strip embodying a, further Amodiiication of my invene tion.

Referring now to the drawing:

An envelope 1 of usual construction is provided with a cut-.out portion 2 inthe mailing vrecord area of' the front of the envelopeor its mailing face. The cut-.out portion 2 is .of substantially theisame shape and-somewhat larger than the mailing record which comprises the usual 'postage 3, cancellation 4,; and postmark 5.

A strip. 6, somewhat largerthan the. cut-out portion 2, and adapted to carry the mailing record is placed upon theenvelope reso as tov .cover the out-.out portion-.2. The st-rip 6 may. .belof paper or other suitablematerialand comprises a border 'll and a central ysecztion V8- dened by atearing or perforated line .9. 'l"he,.horder or.A marginal portion. of thexstrip is adapted to be secured to the mailing face of the envelope 1, and in position to. cover the cut-.out portion 2f, by means. of an adhesive 10 which. is provided. inthe form of a band spaced outwardly fromthetearing line 9 as Shown in Figure 5. 'I he centralse'ction 8; is Yadapt-A ed.to. besecured to the letterv or enclosure 11A by means of a layer of adhesive 12.- The adhesive may also be applied to section 8 and border 7 as one continuous coating.

In practicing this invention, a letter or other` matter to beenclosed is placed within an envelope having av cut-out or opening in its: mailing face, and the strip 6. is placed over the opening so that adhesive 12. will bind section 8 to the enclosure and adhesive. 10 will bind the border '7` of the strip to that part of the envelopes; mailing facewhich surrounds the opening. A stamp 3. is placed in the right-hand end of .section 8, and the latter receives, during the` passage ofl the envelope through the mail, cancellation 4 and postmark 5. When the :message isreceived by the addressee, the letter or othcr enclosure is, withdrawn from the envelope, andin. 50,. doing,V section 8, carried by the letter. is torn from border. '7lA The letter,

'f theref0reievidenc-es the fact .that it has. passed through the mail, and shows also by the postmark the date of its transmittal.

The strip 6 may also be applied to envelope 1 before the insertion of enclosure 11, in which case border '7 is secured to the envelope before the latter receives the enclosure, and section 8 is secured to the enclosure after the latter is placed in the envelope.

The adhesive used may be a water-soluble adhesive or a substantially permanent adhesive, such as, label varnish or other water-insoluble l gumming or cement. A substantially permanent adhesive is preferred, as it insures a more permanent union between the strip carrying the mailing record and the letter.

A In order to furnish somewhat more conclusive evidence that the mailing record was received by a letter` during its transmittal through the mail, the mailing record area of the mail wrapper may be modied so that part of the cancellation and/or postmark ink will reach or be received directly on the letter. The several modifications illustrated in Figures 1 to 7 show constructions which will accomplish this object. For example, the strip 6 (Figs. 1 to 4) may have an opening 13 so located in the central section 8 that part of the ink of the postmark 5 will be received directly on the letter and the rest of the postmark ink together with the cancellation ink will be received by section 8. The provision of opening 13 will thereby prevent improper use of the section 8 after the envelope and letter have been transmitted through the mail. Therefore, any attempt to transfer a section 8 from a letter, which has been' through the mail and carries a section 8 and its mailing record, to another letter in order to supply the latter with false evidence of mailing may be readily detected. If the postmark is not completed by an imprint on the letter and Within the opening 13, the ob 'server will know that the mailing record is false.

liiigure'y showsa modied form of blank 14 having a rouletted or weakened tearing line 15 and a plurality rof perforations. 16, which latter arev of' size and 'distribution suitable to insure that some. part of ink from the postmark and/or Acancellation stampwill be impressed on'the envelope contents` .The function of perforations 16 is the sameas that of openingA 13 in Figs. l to 4, and an observer' will know from the continuity of the oiiicial postmark and Vcancellation on the central section of the. strip and the letter within the perforations. 16 .whether the mailing record is true for that particular letter. If the section carrying the mailing record has been transferred and the record,` therefore, is. false, the oicial cancellation and postmark imprints will be interrupted and incomplete wherever they cross a perforation, and the parts. of the letter left exposed by the perforations 1,6 will be blank.

In Figure 7 an envelopeY 1'7 has an integral separable sectionv 18 bounded by a tearing line 19 similar to tearing line l5 shown in Figure 6. Section` 18 may be secured to an enclosed letter in the same manner as section-8 in Figures 1 to 3:' and is adapted to receive the mailing record'. Section 18 is also provided with perforations 20 similar in size and arrangement to the perforations 1,6 of Fig. 6. These perforations 2Q are intended to serve the same function as the open* ing 13 in Figs. lV to 4. and the apertures 16 of Fig.- 6.` .i Y l Figure 8 shows a. tape. 21 constituting a plurality of strips 22,*separated by a, perforated or weakened, line Each stripv 221s divided into a central section 24 and border 25 bymeans of a tearing line 26. The tape 21 is intended for'use with a franking machine, andl whenever mailing matter is to be posted, the machine may be operated to print the mailing record on one of the strips 22, and the latter torn from the tape and applied to the mail covering or envelopeand its enclosure or letter in the manner described in connection with the modification shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

It is clear that the structure of my mailing record strip may be adopted by the postal department of any government as a stamp form. In such a case, the postage stamp, orother indicia of value, may be engraved, or otherwise imprinted, directly upon the stripand preferably in the relative position of the postage 3 as shown in the drawing.

It will be understood that the strips 6 and 14 shown in Figs. 1 to 6 may receive the mailing record in whole or in part before they are applied to an envelope in accordance with this invention. In this case, the strips need not be provided with ink transmitting perforations.

The central section of the strips 6, 14 Vand 22 is preferably of substantially the same size and shape as the mailing record and the cut-out portion. The tearing line may register with the edge of cut-out portion 2 or may lie inside thereof. It is preferred that a portion 27 of the border be left bare of adhesive, in order to minimize the possibility oi' the border becoming attached to the enclosure or letter.

For the purpose of this speciication and the claims to follow, the term mailing record is intended to include the postage and the impression of cancellation, postmark, and any other marking of mailing, collectively or in any combination less than the whole, which it may be desired to preserve or cause to be preserved to give the identiiable evidence of mailing desired, including any permissible private marking.

Having thus described the form of altered section of my improved envelope, it will be understood that the method of use ofvcoverings and mailing record strips constructed in accordance with this invention will be apparent to the user. It will also be apparent to the recipient when a tearing line is an element of the mail covering, that tearing is required at the tearing line.

My invention has many important special uses and is suitable and desirable for general use in mailing and the like. The invention may be used to advantage in the mailing of documents, legal and otherwise, of military orders, of patent office records and various other governmental mailings and communications. The desirability for general use will become apparent with the general recognition of the real value of such aiixed mailing record.

From the above description of my improved'envelope it is clear that novel means are provided, whereby mailed matter not integral with its covering may be positively and permanently identiiied with authoritative evidence of such mailing.

It is to be understood that various changes in arrangements may be resorted to and that I consider all variations which may be made under the teaching of this invention to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application Serial No. 607,384 iiled April 25, 1932.

What I claim is:

1. In a mail covering for obtaining a mailing "recordvv uponfits enclosure, z'an envelope having a cut-out portion in the mailing'record area of its -mailing face, said cutfout portion beingvof substantially thesameshape and size as the mailing record, and a strip adapted to receive the mailing record and to overlie said cut-out portion, said strip being provided with adhesive on its under side for securing the marginal part of the strip to said mailing faceandthe central part of the strip to the enclosure through said cut-out por- 2. In a mail covering for obtaining a mailing record upon its enclosure, an envelope having a cut-out portion in themailing record area of its mailing faceandja strip adapted to overlie said vcut-out portion, said strip having a border, a

tearing line dening the inner edge of .the border, and adhesive on its underside for securing the border to saidfmailing face and the central part of the strip to'theenclosure through said cut-out portion. l

3. In a'rmail vcovering for obtaining a mailing record uponits enclosure, an venvelope having a cut-out portion in the mailing record area of its mailing'face, said cut-'out portion being of substantially the size and shape of the mailing record, and a strip adapted to overlie said cut-out portion, said strip having` a border, a central part oi substantially the size and shape of the mailing record, a tearing line between said border and said central part, and adhesive on its under side for securing said border to said mailing face and said central part to the enclosure through said cut-out portion.

4. A mailing record strip for use with a mail covering having a cut-out portion in the mailing record area of its mailing face, comprising a cen-'w tral section for bearing the mailing record, a border separable from said central section, and an adhesive coating on the under side of both said border and said central section. A

5. A mailing record strip comprising a central section bearing the postmark and stamp of a mailing record, and a border separable from and surrounding said central section.

6. A mailing record strip for use with a mail covering having a cut-out portion in the mailing record area of its mailing face, comprising a central section for receiving the mailing record, a tearing line dening the boundary of said central section, a border, and an adhesive coating on the under side of both said border and said central section.

7. A mailing record strip for use with a mail covering having a cut-out portion in the mailing record area of its mailing face, comprising a central section for receiving the mailing record and being of substantially the size and shape of the said record, a border surrounding said central section, a weakened tearing line constituting the dividing line between said central section and said border, and an adhesive coating onV the under side of both said border and said central section, the adhesive on said border being spaced outwardly from said tearing line.

8. A mailing record strip for use with a mail covering having a cut-out portion in the mailing record area of its mailing face, comprising a plurality of separable units, each of said units comprising a central section for receiving the mailing record, a border surrounding vsaid central section, a tearing line constituting the dividing line between said central section and border, and an adhesive coating on the under side of both said border and central section.

9. A mailing record strip comprising a central section adapted to carry a mailing record, and a border separable from and surroundingwsaid central section, said central section having at least one perforation inthe postmark and cancellation area. f p

l0. In a mail covering for obtaining a mailing record upon its enclosure, an altered portion for carrying the postmark, cancellation andstamp constituting thel mailing record, said portion having a tearing line dening a boundaryfor the mailing record area, an adhesive backing for that part of the coveringv Withinthe connes of said tearing line for securing the same to the enclosure, and at least one perforation or opening in the mail covering, Within the tearing line, and in such position that a part of the mailing record will be impressed upon the enclosure.

1l. In a mail covering for obtaining a mailing record upon its enclosure, an envelope having a cut-out portion in the mailing record area of its mailing face, `a strip somewhat larger than said cut-out portion for 'carrying the cancellation and the stamp constituting the mailing record, and an adhesive coating on the under side of said strip for securing the outer part of the strip to said mailing face and the central part of the strip to the enclosure through said cut-out Vbeing dened by a tearing line, having an adhesive on its under side for securing the same to the enclosure, and having at least one perforation in such position that a part of the mailing record Will be impressed directly upon the enclosure.

13.l In a mail covering for obtaining a mailing record upon its enclosure, an altered portion for carrying the cancellation and stamp constituting the mailing record, said portion having a tearing line dening a boundary for the mailing record area, and a substantially permanent adhesive coating onl the under side of that part of the covering Within the confines of said tearing line for securing the same to the enclosure.

ARTHUR W. MACKINNON. 

